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| President Moon Jae-in speaks before a luncheon with the leaders of Korea’s top four conglomerates at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. From left are LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Moon, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam. Yonhap |
Regarding Samsung chief’s pardon, President says he ‘understands hardship’
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Moon Jae-in praised the leaders of Korea’s top conglomerates for their contribution to expanding the economic partnership between Seoul and Washington, attributing the successful outcome of last month’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to the companies’ plans to invest in America.
Moon made the remarks during a luncheon with the chiefs of the nation’s top four groups, or chaebol, at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Those in attendance were Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, who participated in lieu of jailed Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Since taking office in 2017, Moon has met business leaders on several occasions or visited their individual plants, but this is the first time that he invited the heads of the top four chaebol to the presidential office together.
“We had a very good outcome after the summit thanks to the support from the four groups,” Moon said during the luncheon. “Korea-U.S. relations have progressed to a comprehensive level encompassing cutting-edge technologies in the semiconductor, battery and electric vehicle (EV) industries, and it is especially meaningful that the U.S. has chosen Korean products as the ones they need most.”
During Moon’s visit to the U.S. for the summit, Korean businesses, including the four conglomerates, announced plans to invest $40 billion there.
Samsung Electronics will spend $17 billion to build a new foundry chip manufacturing plant with the location to be decided on among the states of Texas, New York and Arizona. LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation will invest $14 billion between them to increase their EV battery production capacity in the U.S.; while Hyundai Motor Group plans to spend $7.4 billion to improve the EV charging infrastructure there.
The plans were hailed by Biden, as his administration has been striving to promote U.S. supply chains in these sectors. During a press conference after the summit, Biden praised Korean businessmen, saying the investments will create “jobs of the future” and help “fortify and secure the supply chains for things like semiconductors and electric batteries.”
Moon also noted during the luncheon that “President Biden asked businessmen to stand up for the introduction and I believe this was the highlight of the press conference.”
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| President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Joe Biden applaud Korean business leaders, standing, during a joint press conference at the White House after their summit in Washington, D.C., May 21. Biden asked them to stand up to appreciate the Korean companies’ investment in the U.S. Joint Press Corps |
Moon said the companies’ investments in the U.S. would result in more jobs and opportunities in Korea, defying some concerns that the conglomerates expansions in the U.S. are being made at the expense of domestic jobs.
“When our conglomerates make forays overseas, their partner companies, suppliers and vendors will follow,” Moon said. “This also brings an increase in the export of components, materials and equipment, which will result in more jobs and opportunities domestically.”
Moon’s meeting with the leaders is interpreted as a gesture to improve relations with the business sector in the late stages of his tenure, and use the country’s economic recovery as an opportunity to reverse his low support rate.
Throughout the year, Moon has been emphasizing Korea’s recovery from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. During a meeting with his aides last month, the President said the economy was showing “a strong rebound” and the government would spare no efforts to “achieve over 4 percent economic growth this year.”
The Korean economy grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter of the year, far exceeding the average 0.3 percent of OECD member nations during the same period. Citing this, the Bank of Korea is projecting 4 percent growth for Asia’s fourth-largest economy this year, with JP Morgan anticipating 4.6 percent.
During the luncheon, President Moon made no official comment on the possibility of a presidential pardon for imprisoned Samsung chief Lee Jae-young but left the door open for this.
“SK Chairman Chey obliquely asked Moon to review the recent request by Korea’s business lobby groups, and Moon asked for clarification,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said. “After confirming the meaning, Moon said he understands hardship and knows that many Koreans agree with the idea. Moon also said he was aware of the facts that the economic situation is developing far different from the past, and companies are required to make bold decisions.”
Including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, five of Korea’s leading business organizations jointly requested Moon in April to grant a presidential pardon for Lee, who is serving a jail term after being found guilty of bribery in the scandal that brought former President Park Geun-hye down. The lobby groups have been demanding a pardon because his absence “hampers companies” from making big investment decisions.
So far, Moon has been stressing getting a public consensus as a precondition for pardoning Lee, but has increasingly used neutral rhetoric recently.
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